MHS' Reyes playing in Heartland Classic

Published 12:27 pm, Monday, June 20, 2011

In a way, Matt Reyes' high school baseball career will come full circle today.

Reyes burst onto the Midland High sports scene as a sophomore, earning 2009 2-5A Newcomer of the Year honors for his consistent bat and highlight reel stops at second base.

He had the honor that offseason of playing for Team Texas along with Bulldog teammate Erick Callier in what was then the Sunbelt Classic Tournament.

Today, Reyes will begin what will be his second appearance in the Sunbelt Classic, now called the Heartland Classic, which takes place in Norman, Okla., this week.

"I'm amazed by it," Reyes said. "Just having the chance to play again is exciting."

Team Texas, comprised of Texas high school players from freshmen to graduating seniors, will compete against all-star teams from Arizona, Arkansas, Canada, Georgia, Maryland, Ohio and Oklahoma in a round robin tournament that will culminate with a playoff for the tournament championship Saturday.

Reyes' Team Texas won the tournament when he played as a sophomore, yet the former Bulldog remains in awe of the talent that he will facing and playing next to beginning with Team Texas' game against Canada Tuesday.

"I was excited," he said upon finding out that he had been selected to the team. "A lot of people on my team got drafted.

"Playing to this level of competition makes me want to do better."

Reyes said he's intrigued by the prospect of playing with a team of players he's never met not just for one game but for an entire tournament.

He'll be staying with a host family that he'll meet for the first time this afternoon as well.

Yet the recent graduate is already drawing parallels between the challenge and the new stage of his life that he will begin in the fall.

"I have no idea who's going to be on this team," he said. "It's going to be just like college."

Yet getting to know his teammates is hardly the only challenge Reyes faces in the Classic.

Reyes will play seven games in five days, including two a day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Yet Reyes remains unfazed.

"It's a lot of baseball, but I love the game," he said. "It's going to be quite an experience playing other states. It's going to be tiring, but it's going to be fun."

Reyes may even compete in his first home run derby since Little League this afternoon.

But Reyes said he's most happy that he has the opportunity to put a great cap on his high school baseball career and get a head start on the challenges of college before heading to Midland College this fall.

"It'd be a really good finish," he said. "Just knowing I have that edge to the college level ...that'd be something."